Abrams v. Jones — July 2000 (Summary)

Abrams v. Jones
No. 99-0184 (Tex., July 6, 2000)

The father of an 11-year-old child sued his daughter’s psychologist, alleging that, as a parent, he was unconditionally entitled to see all of the psychologist’s records regarding his daughter. The Texas Supreme Court held that the psychologist could deny the parent access to detailed notes in his daughter’s mental health records.  The court stated that the Family Code section providing that, unless a court orders otherwise, a divorced parent who is a conservator has a right
of access to his child’s psychological records does not override the provisions of the Health and Safety Code that specifically address parents’ rights to the mental health records of their children; that a mental health professional is not required to provide access to a child’s confidential records if a parent who requests them is not acting “on behalf of” the child; and that a professional may deny access to a portion of a child’s records if its release would be harmful to the child.